Sedin blasts effort after Blues shut out Canucks 3-0

Vancouver Canucks’ goaltender Ryan Miller (30) makes a save against St. Louis Blues’ David Backes (42) during second period NHL hockey action in Vancouver on Saturday, March 19, 2016.

Photograph by: BEN NELMS
, THE CANADIAN PRESS

The only player who gets a loss added to his statistics is the goalie, which is ironic because Ryan Miller was the only Vancouver Canuck who deserved a win tonight.

He battled. But not enough teammates did as the Canucks, with nine injuries and a lot of inexperienced players, were over-run by the St. Louis Blues, who outshot Vancouver 50-19 but were stymied by Miller most of the night before winning 3-0 at Rogers Arena.

“The only thing I worry about is effort,” veteran Canuck Daniel Sedin said. “And I think from some guys right now, the effort is not there. It’s not good enough. I think those guys know who they are. I think it’s embarrassing if you’re not giving the effort every night. Shift in and shift out, game in and game out, it has to be there otherwise it’s going to look like this.

“I think it’s been an issue most nights. Early on, we won some games because we had enough guys battling. It’s about learning to win those one-on-one battles. We’re there right now, trying to battle. But we’re not winning them. That’s a big difference. You got to go in there demanding the puck. We have too many instances where that’s not the case. If you don’t get that most of the shifts, most of the nights, we’re going to lose 3-2 and 2-1 like we have this year. There’s a reason we’ve lost all those one-goal games.”

Sedin’s comments were a harsher indictment of the Canucks than any of their losses – four in a row and counting.

The assistant captain did not name names, but the Canucks have seven rookies in their lineup and another handful of young players still trying to establish themselves as regulars in the National Hockey League.

“We don’t have a team where we can have three guys have a night off and we’re going to be OK,” Canuck coach Willie Desjardins said. “It’s not going to happen. You need everybody and I think it has to be recognized. I think there is more (to give). I think guys can be held accountable.”

Asked if the less-than-full effort of some players is due to inexperience or the Canucks’ discouraging stretch drive, Desjardins said: “I don’t know exactly what they’re thinking, but I know there’s more to give. We’re going to have to meet and talk about that. The one thing you have is (your identity). And it’s who you are every day. I’ve always said that. We have guys, sometimes it’s like the game’s too hard.”

The Blues were too hard for the Canucks.

Miller faced 37 shots in the first 40 minutes and was beaten only once.

But that was enough to sink the foundering Canucks, who were shut out for the second straight night and have gone 168 minutes without scoring.

Despite relentless St. Louis pressure, Miller kept the game scoreless until 16:16 of the second period when North Delta’s Troy Brouwer scored into a semi-open net with Canuck Matt Bartkowski in the penalty box for boarding.

Rookie Vancouver defenceman Ben Hutton played a 3-on-2 into a 2-on-1 and Robby Fabbri’s pass across the Canuck slot stranded Miller, who was playing the shooter and counting on Dan Hamhuis not allowing the puck to get to Brouwer.

The Canucks were outshot 18-6 in the first period and 19-8 in the second, when Vancouver failed on two power plays.

The Canucks had a chance to generate a tying goal on another power play mid-way through the third period, but Sven Baertschi’s 25-foot wrister was the only dangerous shot.

A shift after the advantage ended, Vladimir Tarasenko swerved away from Canuck Emerson Etem and chipped a rebound past Miller at 11:54 after the goalie stopped Jaden Schwartz on a poorly-defended rush. Schwartz scored into an empty net with 1:06 remaining.

Miller had to be perfect for the Canucks’ to win.

“I want to do that every night,” he said. “You accept the challenge. There’s always stretches of the season where that’s going to be the case. We’ve had other stretches where I’ve had pretty good run support.

“Right now, we’ve got a lot of different things going on – injuries and also mindset. It’s been tough the last couple of weeks here. We have to come around with the mindset that the competitiveness and the battle has to stay at a high level. That’s important for the guys to understand.”

ICE CHIPS – With winger Radim Vrbata suffering a leg injury in Friday’s 2-0 loss in Edmonton, the Canucks recalled minor-leaguer Chris Higgins, who played his first NHL game since Jan. 9, shortly before he cleared waivers and was sent to the American League. . . Defenceman Alex Biega returned from his upper-body injury just in time to replace Chris Tanev, who is believed to have aggravated a back problem on Friday.

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